FRESH EGG PASTA Pasta alla Uovo

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour, or as needed
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt
Warm water as needed.
Spoon 2 2/3 cups flour into the work bowl of a large capacity food processor , fitted with the metallic blade. Beat the eggs, salt and olive oil together in a
small bowl until blended. With the motor running pour the egg mixture into the feed tube. Â Process until the ingredients form a rough and slightly sticky dough. If the mixture is too dry , drizzle a very small amount of warm water into the feed tube and continue processing. Scrape the dough out of the work bowl onto a lightly floured wooden surface.
Knead the dough by gathering into a compact ball , then pushing the ball away from you with the heels of your hands. Repeat the gathering and pushing motion several times , then press into the dough with the knuckles of one hand, then with the other, several times. Alternate between kneading and "knuckling "the dough until it is smooth, silky and elastic---it pulls back into shape when you stretch it. The process will require 5 to 10 minutes of constant kneading. , slightly longer if you prepared the dough by hand.
Roll the dough into a smooth ball and place in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 1 hour, or up to one day in the refrigerator , before rolling and shaping the pasta. If the dough has been refrigerated , let it come to room temperature for about an hour before rolling and shaping.
Use a pasta machine to roll and shape the pasta or do it by hand.

By Hand:
Cut the rested dough into 4 equal pieces and cover them with a kitchen towel. Working with one piece at a time , roll the pasta out on a slightly floured surface to a rectangle about 10 x 20 inches. Dust the work surface with flour just enough to keep the dough from sticking; too much flour will make the dough difficult to roll. If the dough springs back when you try to roll it , recover it with the kitchen towel and let it rest 10 to 15 minutes. Start rolling another piece and come back to the first once it has had a chance to rest. Let the pasta sheets rest ,separated by kitchen towels, at least 15 minutes before cutting them into fettuccini or 1/2 inch noodles.

Fresh Spinach Pasta

Defrost one package of frozen cut spinach. Squeeze as much liquid from the spinach as possible with your hands. (Wrap "dried" spinach in a kitchen towel and continue to squeeze to get the spinach as dry as possible. ) The drier the spinach is, the less flour the pasta dough will absorb and the more tender the finished pasta will be. Combine the eggs called for in the recipe above and the squeezed spinach in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until the spinach is finely chopped. Proceed as above , substituting the spinach egg mixture for the eggs called for in the recipe. It is likely the spinach-pasta dough will take a little more flour during mixing and kneading , even if you have been very careful to squeeze out the water.